Pamlico leaders give thumbs down to ‘game fish’ bill

By Charlie Hall, Sun Journal Staff

Published: Tuesday, May 7, 2013 at 04:13 PM.

BAYBORO — Pamlico County commissioners joined the opposition Monday night to a legislative bill that would ban commercial fishermen from harvesting three popular fish — speckled trout, red drum and striped bass.

The board gave a unanimous vote of disapproval to House Bill 983, which would classify the species as game fish, limit harvests to hook-and-line catches by recreational anglers and prohibit sales.

Earlier Monday, several hundred coastal fishermen, seafood restaurant owners and opponents of the bill attended an emotional public hearing on the matter at the Legislative Building in Raleigh.

Pamlico Commissioner Jimmy Spain, who was a commercial fisherman for 20 years, said the changes would be devastating to fishermen, especially those with small operations.

“It would affect a small group with small boats,” he said, adding the three fish are target catches. He said it would leave those fishermen unable to make a living and render their boats useless.

Commissioner Paul Delamar III, who requested the resolution of opposition, said there is no science to back the changes and that it was simply not right.

“This is about equity and fairness,” he said. “It says anybody can catch these fish except commercial fishermen. We have state and federal oversight already. There is no science behind it, except one organization that thinks it is a good idea.”

BAYBORO — Pamlico County commissioners joined the opposition Monday night to a legislative bill that would ban commercial fishermen from harvesting three popular fish — speckled trout, red drum and striped bass.

The board gave a unanimous vote of disapproval to House Bill 983, which would classify the species as game fish, limit harvests to hook-and-line catches by recreational anglers and prohibit sales.

Earlier Monday, several hundred coastal fishermen, seafood restaurant owners and opponents of the bill attended an emotional public hearing on the matter at the Legislative Building in Raleigh.

Pamlico Commissioner Jimmy Spain, who was a commercial fisherman for 20 years, said the changes would be devastating to fishermen, especially those with small operations.

“It would affect a small group with small boats,” he said, adding the three fish are target catches. He said it would leave those fishermen unable to make a living and render their boats useless.

Commissioner Paul Delamar III, who requested the resolution of opposition, said there is no science to back the changes and that it was simply not right.

“This is about equity and fairness,” he said. “It says anybody can catch these fish except commercial fishermen. We have state and federal oversight already. There is no science behind it, except one organization that thinks it is a good idea.”

Delamar said this would be another slap at commercial fishermen, who have been subjected to ongoing restrictive rule changes for decades.

“Don’t our commercial fishermen have enough against them?” he said. “It is an industry that is beleaguered. They’re being hit by ferry tolls and more environmental regulations and now you are telling them they can’t make a live on the water like they have all their lives.”

Commissioner Chris Mele agreed that there is no science-based reasoning behind the reclassification of the three species.

There was no vote on House Bill 983 on Monday, but the hearing stretched on for about two and a half hours.

Some commercial fisherman said these species account for roughly 30 to 40 percent of their income, sometimes up to 90 percent.

Rep. Tom Murry, R-Wake, the bill’s sponsors, said the primary reason for the hearing was to engage fisherman in this legislation and to strike a compromise. It would include a fund for commercial fishermen who lose money from the change.

“Eventually recreational fisherman will get game fish status,” he said. “It’s going to happen in the state of North Carolina. My goal is to represent a negotiation.”

North Carolina would be the eighth state to make such a move, according to testimony at the hearing, if the bill passes.

According to the Coastal Fisheries Reform Group, the N.C. Coastal Conservation Association has been pushing the legislation for the past three years.